Safer mobile use is key issue for journalists

As
the Internet and mobile communications become more integrated into reporters'
work, the digital threats to journalists' work and safety have increased as
well. While many press reports have documented Internet surveillance and
censorship--and the efforts to combat them--mobile communications are the new
frontline for journalist security.

With five
billion active subscriptions, mobile phones are the most ubiquitous digital
communication device in history. And yet security researcher Chris Soghoian writes
that many journalists aren't fully aware of the risks posed by their mobile
communications. "Confidential information is sent over regular phone lines and
via text messages and email, all of which are easy to intercept," Soghoian
notes. "Few journalists use secure-communication tools, even ones that are
widely available and easy to use."

Mobile
phones have become readily and cheaply available for the vast majority of the
global population even as those communications have been subjected to greater
control by repressive regimes. Governments in countries such as Uganda, Libya,
Egypt, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belarus, Russia, and Syria
have forced mobile carriers to suspend services, filter data, or transmit
propaganda to their citizens. A number of mobile network operators in
repressive countries are partially or wholly owned by the regimes, making
large-scale surveillance and interference all the easier.

With
governments' increased demand for new surveillance technologies comes increased
supply: Surveillance equipment vendors from Western democracies to China are
all selling their wares in these countries at a rapid pace.

And
it's not just governments using technology to repress--so do non-state players
such as criminal cartels in countries like Mexico. Since the escalation of the
drug war in 2008, the cartels have demonstrated their willingness to
intimidate, kidnap, maim, and kill bloggers and journalists. In one
particularly brutal case, a Mexican journalist was beheaded and left in a
public square with a note that said she had been killed for her reporting on social
media.

At SaferMobile--a nonprofit dedicated to helping
human rights defenders and journalists use mobile technology securely--we
believe that efforts to track, intimidate, and attack journalists will likely
continue, and the risks associated with mobile security will likely intensify.
One area of concern, for instance, is location tracking--knowing, based on the
cellphone signal, exactly where a given person is physically located. As soon
as a phone is turned on, the handset and SIM card transmit unique identifying
data to the mobile network operator. This is not an evil tracking scheme but a
basic function of mobile networks. After all, a phone has to send its location
so that it can be connected to the network and ultimately bill you for data
sent and received.

Still,
a litany of anecdotes illustrates the security issues raised by mobile
communications:

A legislator in Belarus was confronted
in interrogation with his exact locations, data uploads, and calls and text
messages sent and received over the course of several days of demonstrations.

People detained in the streets of
Egypt, Syria, and Bahrain routinely have their phones seized at the moment of
arrest. This exposes contact data stored in the phone's address book, or its SMS
and call logs.

An activist in Libya showed us the
verbatim transcripts of her mobile calls over the course of weeks, recovered
from the security services in the heat of the battle for Tripoli. It turns out
that voice calls can be easily intercepted even without expensive surveillance
equipment.

A filmmaker in Nigeria resorted to
eating his SIM card so as not to expose the contact information of his network.

Reporters killed in Syria may have
been identified and located by Syrian intelligence forces by their satellite
phones.

So
what's a journalist to do?

We
have seen firsthand that many people, for lack of experience or technical
know-how, put themselves at risk with insecure online or mobile communications
that exposes them (or their sources) to arrest, or worse.

Obviously,
the best way to avoid phone-related security risks is to not use a phone at
all. But most people, even if they understand the risks involved, find that
phones are too useful to discard. The best approach, then, becomes one of harm
reduction--identifying and understanding the risks and taking appropriate steps
to limit exposure.

The SaferMobile program of MobileActive.org
works to support journalists in identifying, understanding, and mitigating
risks associated with using mobile phones in their reporting. We are here to
help journalists make educated decisions about how they use mobile phones and reduce
their exposure. As an introduction to mobile security in journalistic
operations, we have put together a mobile
security survival guide with journalists in mind.

We
believe journalists need to ask:

What does your mobile use say
about you? What is logged by the network operator and why is this important?

As you are preparing for an
assignment, how do you effectively assess your mobile risks and what preparation
should you undertake?

How do you communicate securely with
your newsroom back home?

While you are on assignment, what
are more secure ways to use your phone to contact sources and conduct
interviews?

What should you think of in regard
to using your phone in emergency situations?

What should you consider when
filing your story or multimedia content from the field?

What special consideration should
be given to social media use on your phone?

As a
function of their design, mobile networks are logging large amounts of data about
your activities, locations, and interactions, all of which can be disclosed to
an adversary. If you are working in a risky environment, severely limit the sensitive
data you keep on a device that can be lost or taken.

Minimizing
risks and implementing safer practices may be an inconvenience in your daily
work, but it is a small price for the greater security you can provide for yourself
and your sources.

Katrin Verclas directs SaferMobile.org. Alix Dunn is a contributor to SaferMobile and co-founder of theengineroom.org, an organization that investigates and supports wired social movements.